28/12/2025
I recently came across a beautiful piece from Senam Tai Chi & Martial Arts about a student's journey with Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation). While this master isn't mine, the teachings resonated deeply with lessons I've received from my own teachers over the years. I wanted to share some key messages that struck me:
The master summarized Zhan Zhuang in one sentence: "It is a process of concentrating the mind."
But the practice itself holds secrets our culture has forgotten.
THE ESSENTIALS:
Imagine your body as a sphere. The connection between Baihui (crown of the head) and Huiyin (perineum) forms the central axis. This is your core.
"Suspend the head"—not standing at attention, not straightening or tensing the neck. The head floats upward as if suspended from above, the neck flexible and naturally upright. This one principle could cure the epidemic of cervical spondylosis we suffer today. We've forgotten what our ancestors knew.
Below, maintain space in the groin—never compress. The body must have gaps, room to breathe, room for energy to flow.
THE PARADOX OF RELAXATION:
"Relax, relax, relax"—the fundamental skill repeated endlessly.
Our tradition only emphasizes tension—strive, achieve, push harder. Even children live under constant pressure. But listen: Tension and relaxation are the way of both literature and martial arts. Without relaxation, how can there be tension? Like a boxer—only when muscles are fully relaxed can you truly generate power.
We live lives of perpetual tension, then wonder why we're exhausted, in pain, unable to focus.
THE FACE—THE FINAL FRONTIER:
What part of the body is hardest to relax? Not the shoulders—it's the face.
Confucius knew this 2,500 years ago: "A pleasant countenance is difficult." The hardest thing in life is controlling your face. People study their whole lives, work their whole lives, hold positions of power—yet still can't control their expressions, their moods unpredictable, prone to outbursts.
And within the face? The eyes are the ultimate challenge.
The eyes reveal everything—tension, fear, distraction, the wandering mind. When the eyes are truly relaxed, they become bright and resolute, yet soft. They look straight ahead with an open, honest gaze. The eyes are where we hold our deepest tensions, where we reveal whether we've truly learned to concentrate the mind or are still scattered, still grasping.
A true master, even past eighty, has eyes that gleam with clarity. This is what a lifetime of practice creates—not just a calm body, but eyes that have learned to be present, to see without strain, to rest in awareness itself.
In our age of screens and scattered attention, we've forgotten: The eyes are not just windows to the soul—they are the gateway to controlling the restless mind within.
Can you suspend your head, relax your face, soften your eyes, and truly stand?
